


Fallout Shelter

by walkthatlonesomevalley



Category: Bomb Girls
Genre: F/F, McWitham, mcandrews - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2018-02-09 22:17:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2000010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walkthatlonesomevalley/pseuds/walkthatlonesomevalley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mourning. Takes place right after the movie ended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *I know that I don't have to tell you how that movie drove me nuts. This is my start at an attempt to fix the wrongs and mend the broken bridges.*

Fallout Shelter

( right after end of bg movie)

*fixin all the broken*

PART 1

"Mrs. Witham. Can I speak with you?" Gladys heard the shake in her voice. It wasn't wrong of her to want more of an explanation by now. She had told her almost everything but there were certain words left out, certain feelings redacted for the sake of time being of the essence.

"Lorna, I'm-" She was ready to gush.

"Bigones Mrs. Witham. I'm here to offer you your job back." Lorna seemed strong, as she always did.

"But- Mrs. Corbett-"

"No butts. Do you want it or not?" It had occurred to Lorna long ago that things changed after Betty. There was a chance here to fix things. With the sabotage and the second shift, and the thought of her being tossed out on her heiney, Lorna knew that now, more than ever, the factory was in need of good workers, good women.

"I- well. Yes." Gladys decided. "At least, for now, if that's okay."

"It's perfectly fine, Mrs. Witham. The factory was always lucky to have you." Lorna turned to leave but Gladys grabbed her by the wrist to stop her.

"Mrs. Corbett. You're family to me." It tumbled out of her mouth willingly and lay there in the air, a gift that Lorna relished, though she showed little signs of doing so.

"I know, Mrs. Witham." Lorna's eye flashed a sparkle. In an instant a wash of relief flushed over Gladys Witham. People had been giving her second chances so often these days.

PART 2

Vera was gone. Really gone. That letter had been a shock to everyone. No one more than Betty.

It was true that Marco had been dating Vera. It was true that Marco had even proposed. But it was also true that Vera and Betty were once alone in Toronto, together. Completely alone, no family, no friends. When Vera first met Betty it had all but changed her life. Some people have no clue how entirely they can fix someone, give their life meaning, and make them feel whole. It wasn't sexual and for Betty that was the best thing about it.

"New here?" Betty had asked when Vera ignored all the other girls to sit alone, with her.

"First day." Vera confessed.

"Well, you'll get used to it. It happens fast." Vera watched as Betty ate ravenously, not caring about her posture or the way the other girls seemed to stare.

"She sure favors you. Did you notice?" Vera wasn't sure if she should pry or overstep her bounds. There were plenty of women she could talk to at the factory but most of them looked at her with sneers. Vera blamed her poor choices. Who wears perfume to a bomb factory?

She had done her hair in braids like Pocahontas and her make-up was immaculate. It just wasn't what she was expecting and the girls laughed at her right away. It didn't help either that there were more men at the factory in those days and they had all stared at Vera with wanting eyes. Girls got jealous. Girls judged. They always did.

"Mrs. Corbett?" Betty said grumpily, trying to feign interest in idle talk. Betty had given up long ago on making friends with the other women. Only girls who ever gave her the time of day were Edith, Moira, and Lorna Corbett. Betty liked older women anyway. It was good riddance to the rest of the lot. The young ones were petty and unpredictable, somehow nothing like her despite her gender.

"Yeah, she's done nothing but pay you compliments all morning. Where do I sign up?"

"She helped me." Betty confessed, she wasn't sure why she felt so truthful all of a sudden.

"Oh? That's rare." Vera noted.

"When I came here, I had nothing. Kicked out by my folks. Sicka my home town. Lorna took one look. Knew I was a runaway." There was a pause, "She took me in."

"You were younger?"

"Just a year or so." Betty sat up straighter. She felt strength in the fact that she had grown.

"No offense but, you don't seem like a runaway. You don't seem like a trouble-maker either. Home-life must've been rough." Betty smiled at that, she could never get used to compliments or people seeing anything in her at all. It had been hard. It was over now.

It was their first day together and the first day in which Betty felt she had a friend who was close to her own age, a friend she could relate to. She never knew why Vera sat with her that day, or why she talked her ear off, or why when Gladys and Kate came around the four of them seemed to form an actual family. All Betty knew was that Vera, like Lorna, had helped to make her life feel whole for the very first time. All of that was over now. Jail had taken a lot but Betty would stay in jail for years if it meant she could eventually bring Vera Burr back to life.

"You miss her." Gladys said, noticing the extra sorrow, the kind of battle that was so internal it somehow looked different from the outside.

"We all do." Betty said, a dry lump in her throat, her eyes on the verge of drowning, yet again.

"Come on, I'll take you home." Betty would need looking after.

"I'll come to. If you let me." Kate chimed in. Her and Gladys were both cheerier now that the VicMu service for Vera was all over. They had already been mourning and the funeral only made everything worse because it made it official.

"Which home? What home." Betty couldn't hold it anymore. She shrugged Gladys off from her and sat down on a bench nearby. "Do you even know what she meant to me? Have you any idea? Oh, you don't know!"

"Betty. It's okay." She had sounded drunk but it wasn't alcohol that weakened her, it was sorrow. Gladys watched her, wondering what Vera did mean, wondering how they became friends and why they were close. The factory couldn't be the whole of it. There was always more than Betty would say. Always more, no matter the topic.

"No it isn't." Betty said weakly, looking up with that stare that bore into Gladys and made her feel a dirty frozen mistake, a child who shouldn't be meddling, a fleck in the air that just shouldn't be.

Kate knelt down in front of Betty and held at Betty's hand. She knew there wasn't much she could say or do, so she just stayed there the way a pet would: silent, patient, intuitive, kind. Gladys sat down too. No point in leaving. No point now.

"Lorna gave me Helen's job." Gladys blurt out. "If you want it Betty, I'll just thank her and leave."

"No more bombs." Betty said.

"She's fired, you know. Lorna's been fired." Gladys made sure to say.

"Akins will fix that," Betty was sure. "This place can't run without Lorna."

"Betty, they'll need someone in the mean-time. She didn't offer me her job."

It was gross and disgusting to be talking about work. What did it matter if Betty could get a promotion. Kate was right, she was right about everything. They were building bombs. That's what they did. They were making it possible for people like Vera to be killed. A bomb killed Vera. A bomb.

"She was alone." Betty said sudden, shaking and looking frail. Kate wanted to hold her but she knew it wasn't the place. To Kate, Betty had seemed so frail ever since prison, her body was different, her cheeks thin and skin warn. She had lost weight and gained sadness. It wasn't just the fighting and Kate knew that. Prison must've been hellish. When she thought about it more she swallowed anger deep inside. It was all her fault that Betty was broken.

"Betty, lets go home" Kate said. "Please." She begged. "I just want to take you home."

Home. There's that word again. Betty thought sadly. They had a home but what did it mean? They had a home but Vera was dead. They had a home but Kate had a dream. They had a home but nothing was like it used to be.

"Kate, you can't stay here for me." It was sudden and sure, as swift and effortless as a bird flying by.

"Betty, I don't-" Kate shook her head.

"You wanna sing. You want to go."

"Betty, please." Kate said, her eyes drifting up to Betty and actually getting through to her. "We have time to talk and think. About all of this. Decisions take time. Right now, we need to be home." It was simple as anything ever could be. And Betty did notice, she did hear, when Kate used the word: we.

The room had been filled with similar little scenes. Mourners on benches weeping and holding one another. Mourners standing up, admiring the late Vera Burr's undeniable beauty. It was alright now to talk about these things.

Betty hated to think of Marco. He'd be gone soon just like her. Gone like Vera. Gone like James. Gone like everyone who ever touched a uniform and decided to be noble. A sudden unexpected flash appeared in her mind, Teresa Hill standing before her life a ghost, her smile infectious, her wise eyes twinkling.

Without warning Betty burst into sobs. She burst and Gladys held her. Mrs. Corbett came quick and sat beside Betty. As soon as she did, Betty moved to cry on Lorna's lap.

"I know." Lorna muttered, tears rushing to her eyes too. "I'm here." Lorna was the mother that Betty wished she had. It was a cruel thing to think but even crueler, that thought was fact.

PART 3

After a long while of waiting by Betty, the room had almost emptied and the candle burning in front of Vera Burr's portrait had gone down by a third.

"Mrs. Corbett, I can take her home." Gladys whispered. Kate looked up from the ground where she had remained kneeling before Betty with hands in hers and a face hidden on purpose. In a similar way, she too had been mourning.

"Come on girls. Sleep helps." Lorna said. Betty felt broken. Her ribs ached from that fight. A spot on her face had an open sore that just wouldn't heal. But all of that meant nothing to the pain of losing Vera.

"I'm sorry." Betty muttered, realizing she had just cried out her pain for a solid half an hour at least. And all onto Lorna Corbett's dress.

"Don't be silly." Lorna said. "Nothing to be sorry about." Deep inside Lorna was wishing she could tell Betty more about the miscarriage. Ever since Gladys and the lie that made her burn, for a very short while, Lorna had been wanting to talk, needing to talk to someone. "We stick together. Always have."

They all stood, feeling their bones sore from sitting. Lorna helped Betty up, seeing her shake.

"Sleep is important for hardworking girls like you and the factory will be closed tomorrow in honor of our Vera. Our soldier. We can all take a nice long weekend. And you can always stop by, if you like." It was an open invite. She didn't extend it often but the three of her girls could always come by. Their used to be four but now there were three. Lorna noted it in her mind and that note alone made her liable to shriek. She held back all she could, letting out an odd and unexpected poof of air.

"Might take you up on that." Betty muttered, her eyes not wanting to remain open without tears spilling out. Kate walked beside her ready to brace her but knowing that Betty wouldn't let her, she'd much rather fall onto Gladys or Lorna. It kicked Kate just a little, she relished being the one that Betty could lean on and yet Betty rarely leaned, not in that way. Kate allowed herself to drift to the side as Lorna and Gladys both steadied Betty and got her to stand and start walking.

Ambling to the car they passed others who were smoking and crying. Almost everyone loved Vera. Carol had even left the service straight away, finding it impossible to muffle her own cries. Gladys had chased after her but stopped once she had seen Carol's new boyfriend there outside waiting, it was pointless to chase more. What a mess.

Betty insisted that they go to the house. It was her house now and she had to start living in it eventually. Lorna had helped her find two beds and Betty had already moved almost all of her stuff out of the Boarding House at VicMu. Gladys had been so busy with the fallout of Clifford's plans that she hadn't been around to find out about the house at all. Betty hadn't even told her. But they all had a lot on their minds. Gladys was sure of it.


	2. Fallout Shelter: Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio deals with the aftermath of Vera's service and all that they've been through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Thanks to everyone who has given me kind and motivating words, so far. I know the movie made a mess of mistakes, so with a lot of things I'm just having to suspend disbelief and work through them as if such flaws can ever be completely overturned. The most prominent character flaws pertain to Gladys so it's really hard to overcome her spying days. Gladys has always been dear to me and I know her so well that the spying is sort of inexcusable. The writers had her do the same bad thing twice and both times it made absolutely no sense. Trying to fix inconsistencies in character development is almost impossible because you can't take back public mistakes like that. You'd have to completely rewrite history and that would take a loooooooooooooong time. Honestly, I'll think about it but I can't see having the time to start over from the beginning of season two. So for now, I'm brushing over some things while addressing others.*

Fallout Shelter: Chapter Two

The drive was peaceful but not for all of them. There were no bumps or conflicts but Betty cried silently with her eyes peering away where her friends couldn't see. Kate purposely kept a quiet mind, as quiet as she was able. And Gladys hated the silence, hated the empty space in need of words and explanations. She drove her car rather swiftly, stopping only slightly at each sign. The hour was late and the streets nearly empty.

When they got close, Betty signaled Gladys to turn until they were all there on Betty's street.

"Last one, just there." Betty said, it was the house nearest the woods.

"Oh, Betty. It's beautiful." Gladys said. It had to be beautiful and it was beautiful, to all three of them, all at once.

When Gladys pulled into the drive it felt right. She parked and waited, wanting to be inside.

Kate got out quickly and opened Betty's car door.

"Come on," She said, offering her hands for Betty to take. Betty took them. It felt good to Kate, to have Betty in her grasp.

Taking pains to be careful, Kate slipped a hand behind Betty's waist and held at her side while they walked. "Do you hurt?" Kate asked.

"Everywhere." Betty admitted.

In the meantime Gladys stared on, fully aware that the two might want to be alone. When her friends passed her together on the drive she wondered painstakingly if maybe she should just go.

"You comin' princess?" Betty asked.

"Of course." Gladys smiled. Of course there is a place for her here, even today.

Inside the house, it smelled fresh to their deprived noses. Kate had brought Betty flowers after work, earlier in the day. The two of them traveled together to the wake. It was the worst of days really.

"Sorry I've been such a mess." Betty mumbled to Kate, seeing a perplexed expression cross her face once inside of the house.

"Don't be, please." Kate hadn't quite found a way to talk to Betty McRae. So many things just needed to be said and she was ready for them now, ready for it all.

"I can't believe it's yours, Betts. It's a dream. A whole house!" Gladys walked before them and touched at the walls. "Your wall," She smiled and moved to the table that Lorna had brought with Bob earlier in the day, before the wake. "Your table." In a rush she hurried into the kitchen and turned on the water, yelling "Your sink! Your water! Your faucet!"

"Alright, princess, I think I get the point!" Kate smiled over at Betty who had been yelling to be heard and trying hard not to move. It must've hurt all day, but Betty hadn't shown it until the wake. Kate noticed now and the thought almost buried her with concern. All afternoon Betty looked strong in her red dress, strong up until the breakdown at the wake. In her mind Kate was almost sure that Lorna was watching Betty just as closely as she had been on this particular night.

"Can I draw you a bath? It'll help, I know it." Somehow that admission just stung at Betty. Kate would know pain like this. Kate's father had been monstrously abusive to her on numerous occasions. Betty knew that the evidence of these brawls of her own would all but disappear from her body when given good time. Meanwhile Kate had living scars, scars that took over a year to even heal an inch. She had seen them again today when Kate was changing. It had been an accident but one they were both used to from one another. Those scars were better, but they were still there. As present as the sweltering sun on a cloudless day.

"I'd like that, thanks." It was hard to cover it up. The pain of knowing something so horrible had gone on. More important, the pain of knowing that the past could never be changed.

Betty's mind flashed back to Vera and then to Theresa. When would it end? When would any of it just end.

"Betts?" Gladys called, she had been opening cabinets in the kitchen and then slamming them closed like a determined policemen who had been ordered to quickly snoop about.

"Hmm?" A peculiar expression crossed Betty's face and Gladys saw it and she calmed.

"What're you gonna do with all of this space?"

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that, Princess, honestly."

"Oh really?"

"Come on, help me up stairs." Now that she was home, Betty was limping.

"You really are hurt. God, Betts! Why didn't you tell me?!" Betty had looked so good tonight at Vera's wake. Her hair perfectly in place and her bruises finally disappearing for the first time since they had appeared. Gladys had no clue there was still pain there. But now, it was obvious.

"Nothing you can do. I was going to say bye to Vera." The grief hit them both again. Gladys moved through it, taking Betty by the elbow.

"Come on, fighter, I've gotchu." She pulled Betty's arm around her own shoulders and braced Betty's weight against her own just as Kate had done before by the car.

"Ain't no palace in the world with better company than mine."

"Darn tootin'!" Gladys joked, almost snorting. She hated cowboy talk and Betty knew. It was a new joke of theirs, ever since something Clifford had said. His misguided fascination with the American west had been glaringly apparent on a particular outing long before Gladys went away. He was a closet fan of those western television programs that the United States seemed to churn out as often as pilgrims churned butter.

"I'm sorry about today, 'bout before." Betts admitted.

"We're all falling apart." It was a truth that Gladys had been meaning to admit for a long time. She had gotten in too deep with Clifford at the helm. After his death she had just about lost herself, again.

"Why'd you do it Princess? We all heard about the girl before you caught Helen. The one who was just trying to escape." Betty had heard alright and keeping quiet about it had been a task. In Betty's mind that girl could've easily been her. What would Gladys do if she knew? Betty hated to think of it. She hated to think that Gladys would just turn anyone in just for hiding who they were. She thought of Kate again and of Chet and how she herself had handled a similar situation differently. But then she thought of the pickles and that nazi, he had been violent and it was the only reason she yelled.

"I guess I was lost." Gladys admitted, snapping Betty from her daze.

"Scared?" Betty asked.

"Scared… That too."

"Would you do it again?" Betty asked, wanting the truth in the madness. Wanting to know that Gladys hated what she had done and how her actions had ruined lives.

"No. Not any of it." She wouldn't do it again.

"Not even Clifford?" Betty asked.

"Especially not Clifford."

"You slept with him?"

"Would I have left with him if I hadn't?"

They knew each other so well, it was disturbing how little conversations was actually necessary.

"I'm glad it's over. Glad you're back."

"I should've stayed here, should've fought for you more." Her voice cracked, thinking about Betty in jail.

"There was nothing to be done. Really."

"I could've at least tried." Gladys said sadly.

They were talking now about that horrible prison. Betty never should've gone. She never should've committed herself like an idiot but what was done was done. At least now they were all safe and it was over. Vernon Rowley had been a horrible man but he'd never bother Kate again and that was all that really mattered to any of them.

"Sometimes I feel like life is just a test."

"For the afterlife?" Gladys asked. She had never really heard Betty talk much about God.

"No, not really. If there is a God, he's testing us here and just for fun. People talk about the man in the clouds and I just think they need their heads checked." She thought about Kate though and knew that she was all talk. If Kate believed, it could all make sense to Betty. But with most people, in Betty's experience, God was just an excuse to do bad things.

"You might be right." Gladys offered.

"I might be wrong. I never claim to know a thing. How can anybody know what isn't known?"

"You sound prophetic, Betts. What's gotten into you these days?"

"I guess prison changes a girl…" She mused with a soft smile. That was a new thing she could say. A new angle she could spin on all further conversations. It was true but it was odd.

"What was it like?" They were in her room now. Betty had forgotten that Kate was drawing her a bath.

"The big house?"

"Was it horrible? Were they mean?"

"Of course! House full of criminals, like that? Only few women were actually like me."

"What do you mean, like you?" Gladys asked innocently.

"Not. Guilty." Betty enunciated just for her.

"So there were murderers?"

"They thought I was a murderer." Betty reminded, lighting a cigarette with ease. The simple things felt great now. To have a job. To have a cigarette. To have friends who she didn't have to instantly mistrust.

"Were there any girls like Kate?"

"Well, there was me…" It was odd to think of herself like Kate but Betty often did. Deep down Betty knew that Kate was a better person than she could ever be. That being said, both her and Kate had been good as much as a girl could be without gettin' stomped on. "There were a few girls who seemed similar, one in particular, we became friends."

"What did she do?"

"She was framed."

"Was it murder?"

"She's still in there Gladys, still, right this second. Do you have any idea how that hurts? Justice ain't real. So many women killed people just to save themselves, or their kids. Stole bread to eat when jobs were scarce. Told their husbands to drown in fast rivers and then got sent to prison just for standing up for themselves. Out here people don't talk about it 'cause it's shame. And now it's all I see…" Betty used her fingers to squeeze at her eyes. There was pain there, so much of it. All mental and all threatening to encroach on her sanity. Not many people dealt with these truths, certainly not anyone she knew. Betty's eyes stung from all the crying and all the bitterness. It had been a hard year. Maybe even her hardest.

With her old friends, prison talk hadn't happened. There was a girl Betty befriended right after her time, a woman who helped her throw the fights each night in the ring. Betty had told her once about Kate, not using any names. She had told her about the girls in prison and about the trial and how she wanted to die. She had told her a lot of things.

That woman hated her now but not for any of those reasons. It was better that way. Betty didn't know how to tell the people she loved about all the horrible things that had changed her.

"Betty?" Kate walked towards them now, her arm damp up to the elbow. "It's ready now, I left you a towel." They didn't have much but they had soap enough to clean and privacy in which to rest. A bath of ones own was knew to them all.

Kate shot Betty a glance as Betty left and she turned to Gladys now with time to kill.

"So, you lookin' ta stay?" Kate asked, making conversation.

"What do you mean? Stay here?"

"Did Betty not tell you? She's offering you a free room." Betty hadn't told her and worse yet Gladys hadn't even felt that she might be invited.

"I'm a terrible friend." Gladys said, scooting over. When Kate sat down she felt her body sink into Betty's old mattress from the rooming house. They had stolen it cause Lorna said to. It was one of the many things Lorna could impact and let slide.

"We both are." Kate agreed.

"She was in prison, Kate. Actual prison."

"And it was my fault." Kate said, "but it's over now…" Kate wasn't meaning to downplay the horrid experience. What she did mean was that they could move on now and talk about it, live together and heal as other people did every day in their own different ways.

"Can things like that ever really be over?"

"They can, for the most part." Kate confessed. She had escaped a worse prison. Her home life had been cruel. "I spent many years at my father's hand. He can't touch me now. Not ever."

"Has she talked to you about prison?" Gladys was overly curious. She wouldn't rest until she knew it all. It was an ingrained piece of her personality to be constantly digging for more information.

"There hasn't been any time." Kate sighed, feeling awkward and almost upset. "Every time we talk, it's like she isn't seeing me. I want to take everything back but I can't..." It was true, she did hate it. Betty had been through a traumatic experience and it had all been her fault, at least, that's how she felt.

"I think I know what you mean…" Gladys agreed. There were many things she herself would like to take back.

"I never wanted her to go to the police. If I could've stopped her, I would've."

"Me too…" Gladys said, almost whispering.

"And you with Clifford? I hated all that. You should've stayed here and waited with me, waited for Betty to come home."

"She was ignoring us both, there was nothing left to do. I came back in the end, made sure of it. I'd never really leave you two, I hope you know that, Kate."

"Is that why you stayed with the spies?" Kate wasn't angry but she was curious. Gladys had been a different person for so long but Kate understood that sometimes people change just to escape their demons, even just for a little while.

"I stayed because I was an idiot. When Clifford died I thought I could avenge him. Once Victory Munitions came into the conversation that secured fate. I would end up back in Toronto either way. At least with the spies I had a job for a little while."

"Did you love Clifford all that much?" Kate was more interested in the love of it all.

"Not really, no… But his death was unnecessary and I had been there, I was the only one to be there."

"I'm not saying you were wrong." Kate made sure to explain.

"I was wrong, Kate. I was an idiot. And a jerk."

"We both were." Kate corrected, for the second time in one night. As far as she was concerned, her and Gladys both had some atoning to do.

"You haven't gotten anyone killed." Gladys said bitterly, the self-loathing in her voice, so strong, that both of them could almost see it before them hanging freely in the air.

"Gladys…" Kate thought hard at the right way to put things. "... Where to start? I killed my father. Sent my best friend to prison. And Ivan died because he was talking to me-"

"Kate, you can't think of it that way." Gladys Witham was so stuck in her head that she had forgotten she had been talking to Kate Andrews. She felt instantly horrible.

"I can and I will. It's what happened, isn't it?" They both knew it to be so. Gladys only squirmed under Kate's knowing eye.

The two of them sat there wanting to speak but hating all of their words.

In the bathtub Betty soaked, her eyes sore from crying, her body sore from the fights. In a perfect world none of them would be sad. Secretly, Betty was only taking a bath because Kate had suggested it. She wasn't dirty at all, in fact, far from it. But Kate said it would help so Betty was sure that it would.

A knock came at the door and Betty pulled the shower curtain so that only her head could been seen.

"Can I come in?" It was Kate.

"Sure." Betty said, remembering the rooming house and how little privacy there actually was there. If there was one thing they were all used to it was being naked and pretending they weren't. VicMu had taught them much, this was just one of their learned things to ignore.

The water felt hot on Betty's skin and she loved it.

"It was a good idea, the bath."

"I knew it would be. I'm glad." Kate walked to the edge of the tub and lowered herself to the floor, sitting indian style with her arms up on the side near Betty's head. Kate rested her face on her arms so that she could look on Betty fondly whilst she soaked in the tub.

"Do you think you'll stay?" Betty asked. Whenever Kate was close, she panicked just a little and spoke just to fill that air.

"For a while at least…" It was good enough for now. Before, Kate had been sounding like she wanted to take off. Betty didn't know Kate had waited for her. If the answer was guilt, she'd sooner wished that Kate had already gone.

"I don't want to keep you." Betty said, truthfully. If Kate stayed for her sake she'd hate herself more.

"You're not keeping me, silly. I'm keeping you." Kate smiled at Betty and watched her face change as it had often been doing. Those expressions were so open and readable and Kate wondered if she should speak some more and maybe try and get Betty to calm all her nerves.

"Sorry, about before."

"That's twice, McRae. You apologize one more time and I'll scream." Kate slipped her hand in the warm water and let it float back and forth with the steam.

There was a moment where Betty moved to speak again but all her words had been wrong. Everything she said was a mistake. She closed her mouth and sat there rather nervously.

"Your house is beautiful." Kate said after a short while. Silence didn't frighten Kate. Silence was enjoyable to her now that it was shared.

"Our house."

"Our house…" Kate agreed. "Gladys told me about the fights. I know now how you could afford it."

"Does it matter?" Betty asked.

"Not really. As long as you're alright. And you've stopped now?" So often Kate found herself leading the conversation. After Betty came back from prison she was broken, unsure. Even now, with her house and her job back, Betty was still just a shell of herself, a wounded animal and Kate couldn't help her. When she talked to Betty now it was almost like trying to shake a ghost.

"Never again…" Betty said, knowing full well that if there was ever an emergency she probably would slip right back into it. It may have hurt to throw the fight but it hurt more to do absolutely nothing and watch her life just slip away, everything that mattered, everything that meant a damn.

"I wish I could go back. Keep you from prison. And fighting…" Kate added as an afterword. Here with Betty, she wasn't sad but she could reflect on things and see how they had gone wrong.

"But then where would we be?" Betty asked with a smile, looking up at the ceiling and pointing her eyes at the closed door as if she could see through it into her house.

"Together." Kate said simply. It would be worth it for her to go back.

"Well, that's all done." Betty wanted to forget but she knew she never would.

"You never wrote me from prison. I thought you were dieing. You could've been dead…" In her mind Kate knew that no one would tell her if Betty died. The prison had no contacts for Betty's family and even Lorna hadn't been getting letters. When Vera told her, when Kate heard that Betty had wrote SOMEONE, it was a gift from the gods. She nearly lost herself in happiness, the next month went by like a pleasant dream.

"I'm sorry Kate."

"Dammit Betty-" Kate stopped herself with an angered smile, she really never swore. Again Betty had apologized. That was three times in less than an hour.

"What?" Betty asked, sitting up a little before remembering herself. She sunk back into the bath so that Kate wouldn't have to see her.

"If anyone gets to be sorry, it's me."

"But Kate-"

"No! I'm telling you now. You can't be sorry for me. I've caused you hardship. I've changed your life."

"I love you though."

"Maybe so…" Kate thought, smiling at Betty's indignance. "But I love you too, and I didn't want this for either of us."

"Someone had to fall."

"You tell yourself that."

There was still bitterness there between the two. Kate was certain that the police would've left them alone. Betty, being what she was, an open deviant, the prison sentence was heavier, and for absolutely no reason. Kate was appauled that Betty still had no idea how sensless that gesture had been. But Betty had a hard head and explaining the situation to her would take more time then they could ever find between them.

"I killed him, you know? It was my sentence. My crime."

"He hurt you. He deserved it."

"But I killed him. I don't regret that one bit."

"It was an accident." Betty reminded.

"But I wanted it." Kate confessed, all anger about him temporarily lost.

"Kate… Why are you talking about this?"

"I've missed you, all this time. There's been so much I've wanted to say."

"I got your letters." Betty confessed.

It was enough to make Kate scream. Tears rushed her eyes. She had been writing to Betty, every week without fail. It didn't matter that Betty wasn't writing back. If there was even a chance that Betty could hear her, it was worth it just to try.

"I thought I was kidding myself." Kate scoffed, a tear escaping swiftly, and then another. She moved to wipe it from her face and there was a long pause between them in which Betty took Kate's hand and they both held on tight and stared knowingly, Kate in exacerbated frustration and Betty in plain adoration and seriousness.

"They saved me in there. Kept me alive." She was talking of the letters.

"I'll never forgive you for taking the blame." She was angry but she couldn't help her smile.

"Well, I won't do it again. Next time, it's yours." Betty joked.

"I do wish you'd tell the truth." Kate smiled more serious now. Betty was full of lies. Betty would always try to save her and Kate knew that just as she knew that she herself would always try to save Betty. They were a horrible pair. Horribly lovely.

"The water's getting cold." Betty said, it was a shit thing to do, take comfort from the letters but never write.

"Goodness, I'm sorry." Kate said sadly. She hadn't noticed how Betty had stopped moving with her right there next to her. It all just seemed peaceful for once and she loved it.

"We're full of apologies today…" Betty smiled.

"I'm just glad to be talking again." Kate stood up and looked down on her friend. Thinking about leaving felt painful, even if it was just to sit in the very next room. When Kate turned to go, Betty stopped her.

"Kate, what I said before about you not being able to survive prison?"

"What?" Kate was caught off-guard, she hadn't remembered such a queer statement.

"You're stronger than me." Betty said it but it made no matter to Kate. Sometimes people say things without thinking and before Betty had been in a world all her own, forgetting almost everything just to grasp at what she could hold. Kate knew that about Betty. She knew that prison had stolen things from Betty, just as it would've stolen things from her.

"Come on, hurry up. No use soaking in there like a dirty dish."

The conversation had gone all sorts of places. Kate walked to her room and changed rather slowly, hoping that maybe Betty would intrude so that they could talk some more even just for a while.

All-in-all the house was coming together. Their lives were piecing themselves again into full shapes of vivid color.

Betty dried herself and wrapped in a towel. There was something liberating about taking a bath in her own house.

She entered her room to find Gladys laying on her bed and reading.

"I love this book Betts." Gladys said, sitting up and facing the window to give Betty her privacy.

"I'm not much for readin'. It was a gift from Kate."

"Have you read it?"

"I tried but…" Her voice trailed off. She opened her dresser to pull out a silky pajama shirt and wrap it around herself, buttoning confidently.

"Oh, it's lovely." Gladys began to gush. "I read it a long time ago but I forgot how perfectly it speaks to girls like us."

"Like us?"

"Crazy families. Only girl."

"Ahh-" Betty sighed, pulling her matching silky pants on, not bothering with underwear since Gladys was all up in her space.

"In the beginning everything is grey." Gladys said.

"Grey? The color?"

"Sort of, it's not just that though. Dorothy is on the farm and everything moves slow on the farm. The farm is her whole world but she's out of place. There's no color there."

Betty walked to Gladys and sat down beside her. They both stared down at the book since there was a pen and ink picture inside of Dorothy in that checkered dress. Just like Dorothy's grey world, there was no color in the sketch, just black and white, so plain.

Kate walked toward Betty's room. She heard talking and knew that Betty would be decent. When she got to her door she saw Gladys and Betty, their backs toward the door. She heard Gladys's voice and smiled, not wanting to interrupt them just there.

"Dorothy had to leave to see how different her life could be."

"And then the munchkins."

"You told me you didn't read it!" Gladys exclaimed.

"Never said I didn't see the movie."

Gladys pondered hitting Betty hard, it would be fun and she knew now that Betty could take it. She thought about it but she stopped herself, letting out a huge sigh.

"What?" Betty said mischievously. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were about to murder me just then." Betty smiled.

"You give my life color, Betts."

"Oookay…" Betty said. Understanding only basically what Gladys was trying to say.

RING A LING A LING!

The phone cried out from downstairs, it was one of those features that none of them were yet used to and they all jumped just a little at that sound.

"Who could that be?" Gladys asked, turning back to spy Kate in the door frame, holding her chest, with a bit of panic on her face.

"Betty, did you give anyone this number?" Kate asked.

"Well, you three, and Lorna…"

The phone rang again.

"I better go get it." Betty jumped up. She had been so distracted by Glady's story that the ring of her own phone sounded completely alien to her, like an alarm from somewhere else. Secretly it reminded Betty of that day beneath the factory when they had that bomb scare and they were all hiding underground in fear for their own safety.

Kate stood aloft, walking back towards her room so that she might watch Betty from her upstairs vantage point.

"H-Hello! It's Betty!" Betty yelled. Kate looked to Gladys and they both smiled softly, relieving their own tension.

"Betty? It's Lorna, Lorna Corbett."

"Lorna! I know your voice!" Betty yelled happily. But something in Lorna's tone was off. There was a graveness there and Betty's expression dropped just in realizing.

"Betty, we've heard word."

"Word from who?" Betty yelled, she always talked too loud on the telephone. It was one of those things she would probably never stop doing.

"It's Vera, Betty. She's in the hospital."

A bolt of electricity ran through Betty's body. She felt herself stun and then shake.

"But-, Lorna-, they said-"

"I know what they said. They were wrong." Lorna said shortly. "Vera Burr is alive. Vera Burr is unconscious. And Sheila is seeing to her right now. She went in special. I can hardly believe-" Lorna's voice trailed off.

"Can I see her?" Betty asked. From the top of the stairs Kate looked to Gladys again this time with pain in her eyes. Who could Betty be wanting to see? What was this all about? Betty's voice didn't sound happy or sad, it just sounded dire. As you can imagine, this did nothing but worry the two girls. Gladys got up to walk next to Kate. She took Kate's hand in her own and they both waited for the call to just end.

"I think you should see her Betty. Sheila says Vera's got pneumonia. I'm sure you can imagine. She hasn't said a word."

"I-I'll go now."

"I knew you'd feel that way."

"Thanks Lorna. This means the world to me."

"I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Bye Lorna."

She clicked the phone down onto the receiver and stood in the kitchen, swaying, noticing how she was shaky and almost hot.

"Well?" Kate asked, yelling down toward the silence. Betty clenched her fists and wandered out toward the landing.

"You're not gonna believe this but-"

"What is it?" Gladys asked, noticing the graveness on Betty's face.

"It's Vera... She's- She's alive."

When she said it aloud, the realization hit her like a ton of heavy bricks. Betty found herself wanting to laugh with the relief of it all. She may be sick at the hospital. She may have been through a terrible time. But Vera Burr was alive and Betty McRae was determined to see her, even if for only a moment. She was going to see her and Vera Burr was going to be alive again.

"I have to go to her. She's in the hospital."

"Oh Betty," Gladys smiled, tears in her eyes and her hand flying up to cover her overwhelming smile. "I'll drive!"

From the top of the stairs, Kate and Gladys laughed and hugged each other desperately in thier happines, clinging to one another as if life would have it no other way.

It only took a moment for them all to grab coats and rush out the door.


	3. Fallout Shelter: Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang rushes to the hospital to see Vera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *yes, I know, you have all been expecting this update for weeks upon weeks. apologies, obviously, it's hard to update when the show let me down so very much. I still love these characters so I will continue it but slowly in all probability*
> 
> *Yeaaaaa… I can't have Vera dead so sue meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee for this very lame, and improbable survival story.* *When I started writing this I read up on u-boats and I thought I had found somewhere that people did survive a u-boat attack by getting out of the u-boats before they had been struck. I can't find that article now so who knows if this is as ridiculous as it sounds. Apologies for lameness. Love.*

Fallout Shelter: Chapter 3

Part I

In the hospital, Sheila was talking to Ned who had received Vera just an hour before.

"I can't even believe this, Ned. How on Earth did she survive?"

"Life boats! There were a few lifeboats! From what we've heard, when the bombs started coming in, they were hitting the lead u-boats. Some of our crew had time to anticipate their attack and abandon ship." There was a sparkle in Ned's eye while he relayed this harrowing story.

"How many are there?" Sheila asked, astonished.

"Far as we know? 50, 80. But that's those the reported ones. Vera was an accident." Ned's face lit up for a moment and then fell. It was sad to be excited about 80 survivors when really there had been a tragedy that lost them thousands of Canadian soldiers. "It's a small gift." Ned conceded feeling sobered after the initial excitement of finding Vera alive.

"I can't believe it. And to survive this after the factory accident." Sheila's thoughts were back to Vera. The anxious couple hovered impatiently near Vera's body. Discussing private things away from the prying eyes of all those in the hospital, Ned and Sheila were both secretly overjoyed by Vera's presence with them today.

"If there's one thing we know, it's that Vera Burr has always been a fighter." Ned smiled softly and they both looked down at Vera. They didn't know it yet but for a long while she had been swimming for her life, floating helplessly among those large and never-ending swells. In her mind she was still there, still gasping for breath as the bombs raged all around her.

Part II

Gladys pulled her car into the hospital parking lot. She barely stopped before Betty was out of the car with the door slamming.

"Christ!" Gladys exclaimed, using her friend's choice swear word to highlight her frustration.

"Come on, we better catch her." Kate conceded softly. To Kate this was all a miracle. She tried to calm herself for the hard task of entering the hospital once again. So many revelations had come to her in that hospital. She was beginning to think it cursed, even for all the saving it had always done. Walking out of that hospital, she was always a different person than the girl who had gone in.

In the hospital there was crying and laughter. People were arriving just as they had come. So many families looked overjoyed and nervous. They were all there for the surviving soldiers from one of the boats that had just docked less than two hours ago, a boat that had taken days to find land due to lost oars and it's particularly small size.

"What do you mean, you found them in a lifeboat?!" A man was yelling at a woman in uniform.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to calm down."

"Calm down?! You told me my son was dead and then you woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that the military had lied and my son was alive and adrift on some tiny raft in the middle of the atlantic ocean?!" The man was livid and growing red with each second. The woman before him wore a police uniform. Despite what the man had been saying, she had not been the one to rescue anyone at all on this night.

Betty saw the scuff and walked over to the police woman.

"Why were so many families informed of their loss?" Betty asked dazedly, trying to remain calm. She wasn't mad, just lost.

"The police had no part in that matter, ma'am." The officer cleared up.

"Oh…" Betty mumbled, with less answers than she had before.

"Betty! Come this way." Kate had entered and seen Betty standing awkwardly between the front desk and the doors like a lost lamb with nowhere to run. She grabbed Betty by the arm and took her straight down the hall. Kate has spent many of her off hours comforting patients in this very place. She knew where most of the soldiers would be if they were well enough to breathe on their own. Nervously, Kate ushered Betty towards that one large room she remembered so well where the non-critical cases could converse together and heal under supervision.

Gladys walked in late and looked all around. Her friends were ready to turn a corner at the end of the main hall when Sheila peeked out of Vera's room near the front closer to where Gladys was standing.

"Gladys! Vera's in here." It was the first room on the right. A prized room that was normally reserved for severe cases and births. Kate and Betty heard Sheila's voice and turned back to quickly find Vera.

"Sheila, thank God!" Gladys exclaimed.

"She's still out cold." Sheila spoke firmly, holding her arms.

"Pneumonia?"

"Not quite." Sheila confessed sadly. "Ned said she must've fallen unconscious because of the traumatic circumstances."

"It's true." Ned confessed. He pat Gladys on the arm and removed himself from the room.

"Hi Sheila."

"Kate! Betty! It's so good to see you all." Sheila confessed. They hugged just inside the door waiting mournfully for Vera to have a change. Gladys took up shop by Vera's side in an armchair that Ned had brought in.

"Are you sure they won't be needing this room?" Kate asked, knowing full well that this room in particular was meant for worse conditions than just surprisingly unconscious war-heroes.

"It's fine, Kate. Ned made sure. There are so many soldiers in today, we've already transferred a few of the stronger ones to the old clinic near Sandy Shores. They re-opened just for tonight. Special circumstance. It rarely ever happens." Sheila felt herself rambling but Kate cut her off before she could apologize.

"Stronger ones? Is Vera not well?" They all looked down at Vera and noticed the paleness in her skin, her lips purple and skin cold.

"Should we be burying her in blankets?"

"She's got to come out of it on her own. It's the healthiest way. We've done what we can. Her body temperature is normal. There are other patients far worse off and Ned's the primary doctor here, as you know." Sheila admitted. "Also, intense heat can have a reverse reaction now, it's best if she fights it, like this." Sheila sighed.

"So, there's nothing we can do." Betty said nervously, she walked to Vera's side and looked down at her sorrowfully as if maybe she'd never open her eyes.

"We can wait." Kate said, walking over to Betty and clasping her hand and arm, holding herself to her in support.

Sheila had nothing else to say on the matter. She could talk forever on all the things that Vera probably went through but she knew it wouldn't help to drag out the details and make the girls worry.

"I'll go see if I can get you some chairs." Sheila offered. They looked up at her with half smiles, unsure of how to be happy at a time like this. Quietly, Sheila left them.

Together in the room, all eyes were on Vera, all thoughts and all prays.

In the lobby, Sheila rushed to the supply closet, opening it to find that the excess chairs had already been fetched. Looking around she saw that all the seats were full. The people stared back at her in their conversations. She was glad she wasn't in uniform, they'd have pounced on her without question.

She walked back down the hall and looked in all the stability rooms. Most rooms were filled up with quiet. Women sat next to their soldiers, held their hands and wept. In one room a whole family sat on the ground in a circle around a few lit candles. They were singing and Sheila instantly felt like crying at the sight of them. The pain in the hospital was raw today, she could just about taste it in the air.

Eventually she used a key to unlock the nurses common room. She hoped the Nurses wouldn't mind a few missing chairs. Ned caught her struggling on the way out. He watched as his wife tried to pull a chair out of a door frame, her large pregnant belly was really keeping her from finding ease in the situation. Across the hall Lorna came into the hospital, at once seeing Sheila and running to her there.

"My dear, let me." Ned said.

"Oh Sheila, it's a miracle." Lorna said on the verge of nervous tears.

"Mom!" Sheila cried, losing the chair and falling into a hug.

"The things this girl has been through." Lorna said. She was speaking of Vera but she could've been speaking of all of them.

"She's over here," Sheila said, taking her mother's hand and pulling her to where Kate, Gladys, and Betty were waiting by Vera's side.

"Girls!" Lorna cried. She was surprised to see them there so quickly. As soon as she hung-up the phone she had gone straight away to the hospital. Somehow the girls had beaten her.

"Mrs. Corbett!" Betty cried, moving to hug Lorna instinctively. Kate and Gladys just watched, afraid to move.

Vera stuttered a breath and they all grew even more quiet than before.

"Is she?"

"Yes, she's waking up!" Sheila cried in relief.

"Vera?" Betty said, moving back to Vera's side. She grabbed Vera's hand and squeezed it. Just then Ned swooped in with the chair and placed it right behind Betty. Kate pushed Betty's shoulders down lightly until Betty sat.

They all hung on the suspense looking haggard.

"W-wh-water." Vera uttered, with eyes still closed and a desperate look on her face.

"Water," Sheila said, pouring a cup from the water pitcher near the door. She quickly handed a full cup to Gladys.

"It's right here, Vera," Gladys said, taking the cup to Vera's lips and spilling a little in and then a little more. Vera swallowed harshly and asked for more. A couple minutes went by like this with all the girls watching as Vera drank and drank and drank with closed eyes. Sheila kept refilling the cup and Gladys kept feeding it to Vera.

After a while, Vera finally shooed the cup away and wiped her mouth. It worried them all that she hadn't opened her eyes.

"Thanks," Vera said in a relaxed sort of way. Before they knew what was happening, she had fallen back to sleep.

"It might be a while." Sheila finally said.

Ned had brought more chairs for them all, stealing away a few moments after having sedated a hysterical man who was angry beyond belief at his fellow soldiers who were no longer in his presence. It wasn't rare for Ned, this certain type of chaos. Somehow he thrived in it, molding it to his will, taking charge of these situations and fixing them in ways.

He looked at Sheila's friends and knew that Vera would be just fine physically. But words could never really appease the minds of those who had been grieving. Sheila joined Ned outside of the room and offered him a kiss.

Part III

As the hours went by, the women talked softly, within the room, about all sorts of things. With Kate next to Betty and Lorna next to Gladys, they sat across from each other, Vera resting still in between the four of them.

"What are you going to do now, Mrs. Corbett."

"I'll do what's best." Lorna said, "always do." She smiled lightly at Kate, setting an example for those in town without family to support them. "And you, Gladys? You certainly won't be working as a spy any longer." Lorna smiled.

"No thank you. I am done with the intrigue." Betty looked up at her with tears hanging in her eyes.

"Good to hear it." Betty affirmed.

"It was never right." Gladys said, taking care to look at each and every one of them.

"I'm going to sing. Full-time. No more bombs." Kate offered without being asked.

"That's lovely." Lorna said. "And can you afford to do that? Will it pay enough?" Lorna always thought of things practically. She would love for Kate to be able to sing and also have a good life. She herself would never consider singing an option, even if she had been born with the voice of a stunning sky-lark.

"Money will be tight." Kate admitted.

"She won't need much now that I've got us a house." Betty reassured.

"Oh that's right! Your house!" Lorna exclaimed, forgetting all about it even though she had just been there and seen those walls and new rooms, seen that kitchen and that phone. "I couldn't be prouder!" She smiled.

They were quiet for a while so Kate decided to sing a song.

I don't want to set the world on fire, I just want to start a flame in your heart…

They all smiled, looking over at Kate.

In my heart I have but one desire and that one is you, no other will do. I've lost all ambition for worldly acclaim, I just want to be the one you love. And with your admission that you feel the same, I'll have reached the goal I'm dreaming of.

Betty felt as Kate squeezed her hand hard and tight.

Believe me, I don't want to set the world on fire. I just want to start a flame in your heart.

The lyrics were so lovely and none of them had heard it but Kate. For VicMu girls it really meant something new. None of them really wanted to start fires and kill men. They all just wanted to live and find love. They were human after all.

"Such a lovely song, Kate."

"Leon found it for me. He brought sheet music to The Jewel Box one night after work. He knew that a blue-shift girl would love it. He just knew."

"And he was right." Betty smiled. Her nostrils flaring as they did every time the deep adoration she felt became too much for words.

Vera shook too. Her eyes fluttered and she struggled to move, her arms reaching and then dropping.

"Wh-where am I?" She asked.

You're here, with us. Gladys said, standing above her and lowering her face close so that Vera could see that she was not at sea.

"G-Gladys?" Vera said, a smile coming to her lips.

"Vera Burr." Gladys smiled, moving a hand to Vera's bangs and pushing them off of her forehead lovingly.

"W-what happened?" Vera asked. She vaguely remembered the events.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Betty said with a soft smile.

"Betty?" Vera said, pushing herself up so that she could lean back on the wall and see all the women who were here with her somehow.

"That's right." Betty said.

"And Kate."

"And Lorna." They all chimed in.

"Golly, who knew I'd cause such a stir."

"Are you kidding?" Gladys scoffed. "The whole factory would come if they knew."

"Well there's an exaggeration." Vera smiled.

"Somehow, I don't think so." Lorna made sure to say. They were all together now.

"Are you alright, do you feel okay?" Kate asked.

"I-uh, sure. I feel swell." Vera said, bracing herself and taking stock of things. She moved her legs and her limbs, they were all sore but nothing felt worse than the throbbing in her head. "This headache might kill me but at least I'm on land." She joked, feeling the pain of it. "Dying for a gasper." She admitted.

"Oh here," Gladys said, pulling a cigarette shakily from her bag. She set it in Vera's mouth and lit a match, allowing it to burn until it was almost all the way out. Vera took a long grateful drag before allowing herself to breath.

"It's like sex." Vera joked, exhaling, looking relaxed and almost good as new with that smile on her face.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Kate asked. "Do you remember it."

"I remember…" Vera thought, her mind swimming back to the deck of the u-boat. It was all frantic at the end. "I was on the deck awaiting orders when this large wave. It knocked me overboard. I had to swim in the water, try ta float." Vera stared out at nothing as if she was seeing it in her mind. "The enemies, they were taking the other boats easy. They had more fleet, more bombs. Since I was a new recruit my boat was last to action. We all knew we were losing even before the bombs started to come." Vera scoffed, speaking on. "Orders were preparing us to get ready to go inside. We were going to retreat, dive down, it was the only way. I had just received an order to fall below deck when the wave came out of nowhere and knocked me down. It hit me hard and pulled me off the ship, feet-first, straight into the water."

"Oh Vera," Kate sighed, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Hearing it now, Kate could see it in her mind.

"I-I struggled." She choked, clasping at her neck and feeling her throat sore. "As soon as I hit the water I had to fight hard to find the surface again. I had been pulled way under. After that I had to get away from the boat, it was dangerous. I knew it was going to dive any minute. In our training we're taught, when the boat dives, if for some reason you're in the water, you want to get as far from it as you can. I was panicking." Vera said, her eyes glowing wide with almost regret.

"The pull." Gladys said bleakly, imagining Vera's small body against the natural pull of several tons of water being pushed down by the weight of a powerful war machine.

"Another girl had been smart. She had a life ring somehow, I don't know how she got that. There were lots of us in the water." Vera smiled remembering the frenzy. There were a lot of them, all panicked and wanting to cling to each other. Looking back now it almost seemed romantic for people to want to swim to each other just for company even if the sea was so vast that it was sure to win and suck them down into it. This girl, "she swam over to me and told me to hold the ring. So I did," Vera smiled, almost shocked herself by all that had happened. "Together we fought to swim away from the boats."

"Did the boat go down?" Betty asked.

"I never saw it go. The enemy was too quick. They had too many bombs. I just swam away, I had to."

"So you just floated?"

"For a long while." Vera said, remembering how unbearably long it had felt. The water had been cold but that pain was nothing to her own panic. "Eventually, when we had almost given up, a man came by in a life-boat. He was picking up strays. Those that had fought enough to live."

"So there weren't many then."

"No, not at all. Those waters were littered with bombs." Vera said coldly. How strange to have things you make come back to get you.

"Vera, you should've died." Gladys said with alarm.

"Not the first time." Vera sighed, smiling finally and seeing her legs.

"And the girl who was with you?"

"Didn't know her." Vera admitted.

Sheila suddenly entered.

"Oh good! You're awake!" She sat down on the end of the bed to look at her friend. "You're quite the survivor."

"I'm nothin' much, Doc." Vera joked while she smoked.

"You say that now but think of all you've been through!" Sheila marveled.

"My life is a circus, and boy do I know it well."

"Can we take her home now Sheila?" Betty was eager to dodge the hospital. Bad things always happened there.

"I'll go ask Ned. He may want her to stay over-night."

They watched as Sheila left.

"Sure wish Marco was here," Vera sighed. All she could think about now was getting to him.

No one had the heart just then to tell her where Marco had gone.

Part IV

Once Vera woke, Ned was eager to speak with her. It appeared she had no brain damage. That was Ned's main worry since she had been out for an immeasurable amount of time. Vera remembered everything from before the morning, and after. Ned noticed right away that talking with her now was like talking to her last year. There was no change in her. She was still strong as ever.

"You can stay or you can go. It's really up to you."

"I'd like to go home." Vera admitted finally. She hadn't said anything before when Betty mentioned leaving but the hospital did give her the willies. It always reminded her of how once she almost killed herself and she hated to think of that, especially now.

"You can come home with us," Betty offered.

"I'd like that." Vera said.

"First we have to see if you can walk." Ned confessed. Sometimes patients were unaware of their bodies. Vera moved the bed covers and swung her feet around to touch the floor. She moved to stand and Gladys backed away, offering her hand for support should Vera need it.

"Looks like I'm good." Vera said, standing up and trying to appear stronger than she was, everything ached.

"Alright, alright," Ned conceded, Sheila came out of a nowhere with a wheelchair and Vera sat down it in knowing well that she shouldn't even try to walk far.

"Thanks for the call Mrs. Corbett."

"No, thank you for coming!" Lorna said. "Do you girls need any help?"

"I think we can take it from here Mrs. Corbett." Gladys confessed.

"Good, I'll see you all soon."

"See you soon!" They responded.

It wasn't hard to load up the car and start the journey home. There weren't enough beds at Betty's yet but there would be a room for Vera if she wanted it. Who knew what would happen now that Vera was home. Would she have to go back to service? Would she be able to rest?

They all decided not to think about things for now since it was too hard.

"You must be starving." Gladys said.

"You know me well!" Vera smiled contagiously.

"I could make us something at home." Betty suggested.

"You keep saying home!" Vera laughed, "Since when is the rooming house home?"

"Vera! You don't even know?" Kate gasped. "Betty bought a house! We're all gonna live there."

"No kiddin'?" Vera asked skeptically.

"Signed the deed days ago."

"Well, shit, we gotta celebrate!"

"We sure do!" Gladys agreed.

"Let's stop at Sam's, I can buy us some booze."

"Don't you think you should take it easy?" Betty asked cautiously.

"Betty, I can't even count the number of times I have almost died in this lifetime. If I don't live for today, I'll never live at all!" Vera explained.

Kate was sitting beside Vera and thinking on how absolutely true those words were. They were both in a place to appreciate that sentiment. Kate had lost her father and even he had died young for his age. Then there was that whole bombing at the factory. Vera had nearly drowned and her soon-to-be-husband was off at war.

For some reason, Gladys was quiet up front. She was distracted by her own thoughts of death. She had lost so many friends along the way and seen so much pain on the home front. To her, living was pain.

"You okay Princess?" Betty asked from the passenger seat. "You're lookin' a little pale."

"It's just, it's nothing." Gladys said.

"It's not nothing." Betty noticed.

"Can't shake a feeling is all."

"Oh…" Betty said, seeing the solemnity in Glady's face.

They stopped at Sam's. Vera sent Kate inside with orders and a few bills she carried in her uniform hat that somehow made it all the way back to the hospital in that lifeboat with her.

"So, you two gonna tell me what's goin' on up there?" Vera asked.

"They held a wake for you at VicMu." Gladys said, changing the subject. She would talk to Betty in time about her issues but right now it was important for Vera to know what had happened in her absence.

"What do you mean they held a wake?"

"Soldiers came, they wrote to Marco. He enlisted, Vera. It all happened so fast. Without you he wanted to fight."

"Marco thinks I'm dead?!" Vera asked.

"Marco and everyone who knew you."

"'cept us," Betty added.

"Holy doodle…" Vera couldn't think.


End file.
